About the Author: “James Croal Jackson (he/him/his) is a Filipino-American poet born in Akron, Ohio. After graduating from Baldwin Wallace University with degrees in Film Studies and Creative Writing, he moved to Los Angeles, where he worked in the film and television industry. Living in his Ford Fiesta near the ocean, James rediscovered his love for poetry, and has since been published in hundreds of literary magazines including Hobart, The Indianapolis Review, Rust+Moth, Whale Road Review, and Columbia Journal. His latest release, Count Seeds With Me, is available at the Ethel Zine & Micro-Press shop. Our Past Leaves (published in 2021) is available in the Kelsay Books Bookstore and on Amazon. His first chapbook, The Frayed Edge of Memory, is available through Writing Knights Press and Amazon. He founded the journal The Mantle Poetry in 2017.
In 2015, he embarked on a long road trip, working various food delivery jobs and online crowdsource gigs to stay afloat. Thirty-seven states in, he moved to Columbus, Ohio, where he dove headfirst into the city’s robust poetry community, winning the 2016 William Redding Memorial Poetry Prize, sponsored by The Poetry Forum, the city’s longest running poetry series. He has been nominated multiple times for both the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net.
In 2018, he moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is once again working in the film industry as a member of IATSE Local 161.”
More info
Some Crimson Planet
When I am lonely,
it helps to not think
of the universe. I imagine
Earth buried in the darkest
cemetery, a headstone
with some space separating
it from the next.
I know there must be a
tenderness quotient
in the cosmos, a rose
on some crimson planet
blooming tall to wave
at me, its petals drifting
aimlessly through
a garden of light-
years. This distance
is more collective
than we know.
Watering a Flower
Meditation is mellifluous
melody ignoring the choo-
choo train inside my head,
but I have been growing
better, forth in time.
There are meadows
I will never enter – renter
of everything. Nothing I meet
in this life I keep. Honest. Lover
bearing forever strands
of hair? God, infinity is
so infinite when glimpsed.
Such the rose moon
grows on this
specific sky.
These poems are printed here courtesy of the author and should not be reprinted without permission.
A Thrilling Lost Chapter of Mob Rule From the Publisher: "Western Pennsylvania’s New Kensington was in the grips of Mafia Read more
"To those of us who have always suspected that our cats understand our words more than they let on, The Read more
From the Publisher: "When her father pulls her out of high school to care for her invalid mother and little Read more
From the Publisher: "J.New Books proudly presents How to Live Like Li Po in Pittsburgh, the first-ever essay collection by acclaimed Read more
"Clary is the Whitman of West Virginia, honoring the laborers, the precious encounters, the deeper wisdoms. He understands intimately that Read more
From the Publisher: "In Watching Sarah Rise, Jenny Briggs shares her experience parenting her daughter Sarah, a feisty girl who Read more
Brockport, PA — The WCoNA Writers Conference of Northern Appalachia® (here and after WCoNA) is pleased to announce its longlist Read more
About the Author: "Sean Gregory always loved fiction. At an early age he began reading the Hardy Boys and quickly Read more
One of our favorite local authors, Joshua David Bellin (author, most recently, of MYRIAD) just let us know that he's Read more
A lyrical and heartfelt tribute from a parent to their “everything,” their child. From the Publisher: "Following a parent and Read more
Could her Twitter Crush be her Prince Charming? From the Publisher: "A whirlwind romance. A heart-thumping new start. Widowed and Read more
From City Books’ website: "About the Residency The City Books Writer’s Residency offers flexible access to a comfortable, creative space within Read more
love, Pittsburgh is hosting a “Pittsburgh Dog & Frog” coloring contest! Kids, color a page from the children’s book, “Pittsburgh Read more
"Welcome to Christmastime at Port Mariette, where friendship, faith, and second chance romance weave together to transform a small town." Read more
From Parsec (Pittsburgh's premier Science Fiction & Fantasy Organization): "The theme of Parsec Ink’s 2025 Triangulation anthology is Dark Hearts. Read more
Littsburgh has always been a “nights and weekends” passion project, ever since we started the site back in 2015. We Read more
"One doctor. One patient. One terrible lie." From the Publisher: "I used to have it all. My ex-boyfriend and I Read more
"Life on the streets is hard but it's deadly when a young woman battles addiction." From the Publisher: "Where is Read more
"Founded in 2007 and sponsored by Madwomen in the Attic, the Patricia Dobler Poetry Award was created to honor the Read more
One impulsive decision changes the lives of two lifelong friends forever in a powerful novel of suspense by the USA Today bestselling Read more
